Oboe/Buffet Greenline high register

QuestionHi! l have a wonderful Buffet Greenline oboe that l play professionally but the high register is very hard to play. Specially the high e flat that rolls in a multiphonic when l do a diminuendo. l tried different half holes with no success. Do you think that the chimney needs undercutting? What do you think would be the problem?

Thanks in advance!

Josee

AnswerDear Josee

The Greenline oboe is great. I have one myself and have always enjoyed it. I did have problems with high notes as well though and the middle E flat which was unreliable. This failing was cured by adjusting the venting in the first finger plate. It is very small indeed now but gives reliable E flats both top and middle. I had a correspondence with Ole Dahl who wrote a good book on better oboe reeds who also plays Buffet Greenline. He advised me to use a slightly narrower reed shape with more gently sloping sides. This worked for me for high notes but still not for the E flats until very recently a repairer friend told me that the venting was much too large on the finger plate. all works well now even with slightly wider reeds like the Rigoutat -2 shape.
I also thought the chimney of the 1st finger left hand tone hole might be wrong, but there should be need to do anything to that if the venting is correct.
I aslo had Castellina anti condense octave boxes fitted to my Greenline which improved the second octave notes quite a lot too. Fuller and less prone to hissing.

Expertise

Professional oboist with many years experience. Former pupil of Leon Goossens. Solo artist for Arts Council of Great Britain. Freelance recitalist/broadcasting/orchestras. Former Head of woodwind teaching in Hampshire, England. Questions on repertoire, playing styles, reeds, cane selection and processing.

Experience

St Andrews University
Royal College of Music, Aberdeen College of Education
Licenciate of the Royal Academy of Music
General Teaching Council certificate
Broadcast solo recitals/performed with major symphony orchestras/Music Club recitals/writings on double reed matters